Bagpipes consist of three parts: the bag, the reed and the drones. Bagpipes are the descendants of an instrument called the reed pipe, which was two reeds blown into at the same time to create harmony. The addition of the bag made this a bit easier. In the ancient reed pipes, the player's cheeks were puffed out store air so that the sound would be unbroken, rather than constantly interrupted by breaths. This technique was made much easier with the addition of the bag, and marked the beginning of the bagpipes as we know them today. The air that the piper blows into the chanter passes into the bag and comes out of the drones, creating the bagpipes' characteristic sound.
Double-reed pipes have been in existence for countless ages. In 1926, archaeologists discovered a set of silver reed pipes in Ur, an ancient Sumerian city. The exact date of the addition of the bag, and therefore of the first use of the bagpipes, is unknown. However, the bagpipes seem to have played a particular role in the Roman courts. The Roman historian Suetonius describes the emperor Nero playing an instrument that may be a predecessor of the bagpipe, if not the actual instrument. Indeed, those who played the reed pipes were held in great status in the Roman courts, so it would not be surprising if the bagpipe had emerged during this time period.
The bagpipes are not only a Scottish instrument. In his book,"The Bagpipe: The History of a Musical Instrument," Francis Collinson speculates that the pipes originated in the East, perhaps in Egypt. Even today, practically every culture has its own version of pipes, from the Scottish Highland Bagpipes, to the Macedonian Gaida, to the Hungarian Duda. Each of these instruments, while having the same basic structure, possesses its own distinct characteristic sound, and most of them have been around for centuries, due to the prominence of the bagpipes as a folk instrument. Since they are easy to construct and operate, the bagpipes are quite common and were even, for a time, considered to be the instruments of peasants, shepherds and nomads.
According to Francis Collinson, the Romans may have influenced the role of the bagpipes in Celtic history. In A.D. 43, under the emperor Claudius, the Romans began to take over Britain. It is possible that the Romans may have brought the reed pipes to Britain. However, the most conclusive evidence that explains the importance of the bagpipes in Celtic history is a record of the Battle of the North Inch of Perth, in 1396, which describes the battle and mentions the use of "warpipes." Indeed, the Scottish Highland Bagpipes have always been considered a weapon of war, and the use of the pipes on the battlefield continued into the World Wars of the 20th century. The sharp and powerful sound of the reed, combined with the constant roar of the drones, makes this use quite understandable.
The use of the bagpipes on the battlefield may not be quite as common today as it was 200 years ago, but this certainly does not mean that the bagpipes have become a thing of the past. With the popularity of folk music in the 1960s, the bagpipes made a bit of a comeback, and as a result, the 20th century saw some amazing pipers, perhaps one of the most famous being Gordon Duncan (1964-2005). This resurrection of piping introduced some new variations of technique, and much repertoire has been added in the last 50 years. And the bagpipes are almost always found in parades or military events of any kind, which further illustrates their commanding and powerful presence.